| Sean Parnell | |
|---|---|
| 10th Governor of Alaska | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office July 26, 2009 |
|
| Lieutenant | Craig Campbell (2009-2010) Mead Treadwell (since 2010) |
| Preceded by | Sarah Palin |
| 11th Lieutenant Governor of Alaska | |
| In office December 4, 2006 – July 26, 2009 |
|
| Governor | Sarah Palin |
| Preceded by | Loren Leman |
| Succeeded by | Craig Campbell |
| Member of the Alaska Senate from the I district |
|
| In office January 13, 1997 – January 13, 2001 |
|
| Preceded by | Steve Rieger |
| Succeeded by | John Cowdery |
| Member of the Alaska House of Representatives from the 17th district |
|
| In office January 11, 1993 – January 12, 1997 |
|
| Preceded by | newly created district (redistricting) |
| Succeeded by | John Cowdery |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 19, 1962 Hanford, California |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Sandra Parnell (née Scebold, m. 1987) |
| Children | Grace, Rachel |
| Residence | Governor's Mansion |
| Alma mater | Pacific Lutheran University, University of Puget Sound School of Law |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Religion | Non-denominational Christian[1] |
| Signature | |
| Website | Official website |
Sean R. Parnell (born November 19, 1962) is an American Republican politician who is the tenth and current Governor of Alaska. He succeeded Sarah Palin following her resignation, and was sworn in at the Governor's Picnic in Fairbanks on July 26, 2009.[2][3] Parnell was elected to a full term as Governor in November 2010, becoming the first unelected Alaska Governor to be later elected in his own right.[4]
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Sean Parnell was born in Hanford, California to Kevin P. "Pat" (born September 16, 1937) and Thelma Carol (née Liebherr) Parnell.[5] Pat Parnell was stationed at Fort Richardson, near Anchorage, Alaska, while in the U.S. Army in the late 1950s, and returned to Alaska with his family in 1973, establishing residence in Anchorage. Pat Parnell established a photocopy and office supply business alongside the busy Seward Highway in midtown Anchorage, while Thelma Parnell worked at Bartlett High School and East Anchorage High School, the latter being a short distance from their home. Sean Parnell attended East Anchorage High, graduating in 1980. He has a younger brother named Schöen.
Parnell attended Pacific Lutheran University, earning his B.B.A. in 1984, and University of Puget Sound School of Law (now Seattle University School of Law) earning his law degree in 1987. He is admitted to the bar in both Alaska and Washington D.C.
In 1992, Parnell was elected to the Alaska House of Representatives, where he served two terms and was a member of the finance committee. In 1996, he ran for and was elected to a seat in the Alaska Senate. In the Senate, he was a member of the Energy Council and served on and then co-chaired the Senate finance committee.[6]
Parnell left the Alaska Senate to become director of government relations in Alaska for the oil company ConocoPhillips.[7]
In 2005, he joined the lobbying firm of Patton Boggs, where he advised clients on state and federal regulations in developing major oil and gas projects. Patton Boggs represented ExxonMobil in the Exxon Valdez oil spill litigation.[8] In April 2005, Washingtonian and the Dallas Morning News reported that Patton Boggs was the first in revenue among lobbyists.[9]
Parnell left Patton Boggs less than two years later on December 3, 2006[10] to advise Governor Sarah Palin on issues related to commercializing Alaska North Slope gas.[11][12]
In 2005, Parnell ran in the Republican primary to become lieutenant governor. In the general election, he ran as Palin's running mate. In Alaska, the lieutenant governor runs separately from the governor in the primaries, but after the primaries, the nominees for governor and lieutenant governor run together as a slate. Palin and Parnell were elected.
On March 14, 2008, Parnell began his campaign to take on embattled 18-term Congress member Don Young in the August 26 Republican primary.[13] His father was the Democratic nominee running against Young in 1980. The result was a landslide; Young captured 73 percent of the vote, his largest reelection vote percentage until 2002.
Parnell was endorsed by Sarah Palin,[14] National Review magazine,[15] and the anti-earmark Club for Growth.[16]
On July 31, 2008, Parnell told Roll Call that he would not drop out in his race against Young to run against Senator Ted Stevens, who had been indicted.[17]
Parnell lost the primary for the U.S. House seat. The margin between Young, the incumbent, and Parnell was narrow, and the winner was not immediately clear. The result released on September 18 showed Young winning by 304 votes. Parnell said the odds of overturning Young's victory were too small to warrant a recount.[18]
On July 26, 2009, halfway through her term as governor, Sarah Palin resigned. Parnell replaced her becoming Alaska's 10th governor in accordance with the Alaska Constitution.[2] Craig Campbell, commissioner of Alaska's Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, succeeded Parnell as lieutenant governor after Joe Schmidt, commissioner of corrections and Palin's designated replacement for Parnell, refused the position. Parnell and Campbell were sworn in to their new positions on July 26 by Alaska Supreme Court Associate Justice Daniel E. Winfree.
Parnell ran for a full term as governor in 2010. In the primary, he faced off against Bill Walker, a former Cabinet member and aide to former governor Walter J. Hickel, and Ralph Samuels, a retiring member of the Alaska House of Representatives. Though Walker seemed to gain a lot of traction towards the end based on the issue of building a long-awaited natural gas pipeline, Samuels and Walker split the anti-Parnell vote and Parnell won the nomination. He faced off against former House Majority Leader and 2008 Congressional nominee, Ethan Berkowitz.[19] and was elected with Mead Treadwell who had won the August primary for Lieutenant Governor. Though Berkowitz, and former 2006 Congressional nominee, Diane Benson, seemed to have the strongest ticket seen by Democrats in a while that included endorsements from Walker; Parnell-Treadwell eventually defeated Berkowitz-Benson by over ten points.[20]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Loren Leman |
Lieutenant Governor of Alaska 2006–2009 |
Succeeded by Craig Campbell |
| Preceded by Sarah Palin |
Governor of Alaska 2009–present |
Incumbent |
| United States order of precedence | ||
| Preceded by Joe Biden as Vice President |
Order of Precedence of the United States Within Alaska |
Succeeded by Mayor of city in which event is held |
| Succeeded by Otherwise John Boehner as Speaker of the House of Representatives |
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| Preceded by Jan Brewer as Governor of Arizona |
Order of Precedence of the United States Outside Alaska |
Succeeded by Neil Abercrombie as Governor of Hawaii |
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